new church life: september/october 2017
Brian sought response to two additions to the clergy handbook that
he was proposing with the support of Consistory. The first affirms the clear
teaching of the Word that marriage is between one man and one woman, joins
them together in body and soul, is to continue to the end of life in this world,
and that only adultery breaks this joining. It also encourages the use of the
rite of betrothal and the practice of counseling couples at least six times in
preparation for betrothal or marriage, and makes it explicit that marrying or
blessing a same-sex union is a significant disorder which will lead to dismissal.
This addition to the handbook was approved unanimously by a voice vote.
The second addition was on subordination in the priesthood, to give
a clearer picture of what is expected in our application of the teaching that
there are to be governors (praefecti) in the church, among whom there
is subordination. (See New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 313.) As
improvements in the wording were sought that would strengthen the idea
that the Lord alone governs the church and that those of lower station should
subordinate themselves to those in higher position, among other things, the
proposed addition was tabled until those concerns could be addressed.
Brian then highlighted a few points from his report on the Academy of the
New Church, as chancellor: the reasons for the higher-than-expected budget
deficit in the high school; the college’s hope to bring its deficit down further
by higher enrollment; the proposed college student center is fully funded by
contributions and should open in two years; and the break-even point for the
college budget requires 480 students out of a capacity of 500, but the president,
Mr. Brian G. Blair, believes we should plan beyond that.
In response to discussion, several other points were raised:
• How hard the schools work to make it possible for students to attend
• The difficulty of overcoming expense barriers for international students
who are not eligible for U.S. government loans
• The efforts being made at the college to orient faculty to New Church
culture, including donations which pay faculty to read the Writings over
the summer
• The fact that the college faculty council rese rves 80% of its vote for
faculty with New Church background
Women’s Participation Task Force
The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Jr. then introduced the Report of the General
Church Women’s Participation Task Force. He acknowledged that this is a
sensitive subject for many in the church because many care strongly about
it. The task force exists because rather than letting conflicting views fester, it
is better to keep the conversation going with the hope of finding things most
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